Cate Blanchett, Isabelle Huppert teaming up for 'The Maids'

Isabelle Huppert, pictured, is set to star with Cate Blanchett in a production of Jean Genet's "The Maids" in Australia next year.

Isabelle Huppert, pictured, is set to star with Cate Blanchett in a production of Jean Genet's "The Maids" in Australia next year. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

David Ng

Some casting news is too intriguing to ignore. Cate Blanchett will team up with French film star Isabelle Huppert in a staging of Jean Genet's "The Maids" next year at the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia.

The company unveiled its 2013 season on Thursday. "The Maids," which will be directed by Benedict Andrews, will run June 4 to July 20 in Sydney. The new English translation is by Andrews and Andrew Upton. Genet's 1947 play was inspired by the real-life story of the Papin sisters, who worked as maids and were convicted of murdering their employer.

In August, the Sydney Theatre Company said that Blanchett would be stepping down as co-artistic director. Upton, who is her husband, is staying on as sole artistic director. The company recently brought its production of "Uncle Vanya" to New York as part of the Lincoln Center Festival.

The new season will also include a revival of Beckett's "Waiting for Godot," with Richard Roxburgh and Hugo Weaving; and a production of Joanna Murray-Smith's new play "Fury," directed by Upton.

Huppert, whose film credits include "The Piano Teacher" and "La Ceremonie," has returned to the stage regularly throughout her career. She appeared in a touring production of Sarah Kane's "4.48 Psychosis" that came to L.A. in 2005. She also starred in the original Paris cast of Yasmina Reza's "God of Carnage."

"La Ceremonie," in which Huppert co-starred with Sandrine Bonnaire, was adapted from the Ruth Rendell novel "A Judgement in Stone," which itself was loosely inspired by the Papin case.